News of the Weird: Good Housekeeping for the bomber set; evolutionary hardiness in American drinkers?

By
Chuck Shepherd

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
At least three jihadist groups in recent years have published full-color Arabic magazines lauding the Islamist struggle, with articles and essays to recruit fighters and offer personal advice for women on the importance of raising proper families and catering to mujahedeens' needs.

The latest, Al-Shamikha ("The Majestic Woman"), which surfaced in March, featured interviews with martyrs' wives and advised women to stay indoors, both for modesty and a "clear complexion" (advice that earned the magazine its nickname "Jihad Cosmo"). [Daily Mail (London), 3-13-2011]

Prevailing medical authority 20 years ago warned that few humans could survive blood-alcohol readings above .40 (percent), but in recent years, drivers have rather easily survived higher numbers (curiously, many from Wisconsin, such as the man in February in Madison, Wis., with a .559).

(In 2007, an Oregon driver was found unconscious, but survived, with a .72 reading.)

The plethora of high numbers might indicate mistaken medical teaching, or nonstandard machine measurements -- or an evolutionary hardiness in American drinkers. [Star Tribune (Minneapolis), 2-15-2011]